| Sara Wyant | Agri-Pulse | Founder / Publisher |  | Sara Wyant is an award-winning agricultural journalist, entrepreneur and founder of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., a unique digital media firm she launched in 2004 to focus on farm, food and rural policy issues.
An investigative reporter who has written many groundbreaking stories, Wyant has covered almost every farm and food policy debate since the 1980s. She is well recognized on Capitol Hill, as well as by farm, ranch and commodity associations across the country, as a veteran journalist and sought-after speaker.
Throughout her career, Wyant has been a trailblazer through several “glass” ceilings. In 1995, she was the first female to be named to the senior management team in agricultural publishing as vice president for editorial at Farm Progress. She served as the first female chairwoman on the Farm Foundation's board of trustees and as president of the American Agricultural Editors Association, where she also earned an Oscar in Agriculture award for excellence in agricultural reporting.
Wyant was named to Folio’s "Top Women in Media" in the Entrepreneurs category in 2015. For her leadership within the industry, she has received numerous awards and accolades from a wide variety of organizations including: American Agri-Women, Agriculture Future of America, FFA, Missouri Farm Bureau, National Association of Farm Broadcasters, North American Agricultural Journalists, United Soybean Board and others.
A graduate of Iowa State University, Wyant gained first-hand knowledge of crop and livestock production while growing up on a century farm near Marengo, Iowa, which she now owns and manages. She and husband Allan Johnson also own the farm where her husband's family originally established a homestead near Almont, North Dakota. They are the parents of two sons and three grandchildren. |
| Francisco Martin-Rayo | Helios AI | CEO |  | Francisco Martin-Rayo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Helios AI, where he is focused on building a more resilient and transparent global food system. A former avocado trader turned entrepreneur, Francisco has spent his career at the intersection of technology, trade, and climate adaptation, working to protect the world’s food supply from the increasing volatility of climate change.
Before founding Helios AI, Francisco served as Chief Commercial Officer at Deep Labs AI and as a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, where he led digital transformation initiatives for Fortune 100 companies. His hands-on experience in global agricultural markets shaped his passion for sustainable sourcing and data-driven climate resilience.
Francisco holds an MPP from Harvard University, a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School, and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been quoted in the Financial Times, Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg, Fast Company, and Inc.com. Beyond his work at Helios, Francisco is on the Board of Directors for She Should Run, a 501(c)3 dedicated to electing 250,000 women to office. He resides in Middleburg, VA with his wife and two children. |
| Gregory Jaffe | Jaffe Policy Consulting LLC | President |  | Gregory Jaffe is President of Jaffe Policy Consulting, which provides strategic advice on national and international policies and regulations involving agriculture and food, with specific expertise in sustainability, climate, bioeconomy, biotechnology, biofuels, sustainable proteins, biomanufacturing, pesticides, food safety, and food loss and waste. He recently worked as the Senior Advisor for Regulatory Affairs in USDA’s Office of the Secretary. Greg was the Department’s Chief Regulatory Officer responsible for managing the Department’s regulatory agenda, interdepartmental review of all significant regulations, and engagement with EPA and FDA on their regulations and policies that impact USDA programs or stakeholders. He managed a broad portfolio of policy issues that included bioeconomy, biotechnology, biofuels, pesticides, PFAS, food safety, and scientific research and development. He represented USDA on interdepartmental policy committees, including the National Bioeconomy Board.
Before joining USDA, Greg worked for at the Center for Science in Public Interest, a non-profit consumer organization working on food and nutrition issues. He led CSPI’s policy work involving innovative food products and was a member of the senior management team establishing CSPI’s program priorities and designing advocacy strategies. He has a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. |
